A record of my efforts to build a sustainable house and garden in Matsuyama, Japan

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Thank you very mulch

Oh god, what a horrible pun to start a post with. This bodes ill.

We got tired of the fact that our tree man Chiba-san wouldn't come around and look at our trees, nor would he suggest what other trees we should plant, so we asked another place, Mishian Green to advise us. A pleasant young lady came right away, looking competent in a grungy sort of way, and knowing the names of lots of plants and trees off the top of her head.

She also recommended that I immediately mulch my yellowed and wilted hedges with a thick layer of fallen leaves. This has always been my inclination from the start, although Chiba-san advised me that the soil should be bare so that I would know when it was dry to water it. Since I watered it every day, this seemed odd advice. So I mulched the hell out of all my hedges and plants, with joy in my heart. I don't believe this can be wrong. The leaves I got from the library - a lady there rakes up all their dry leaves and puts them in convenient yellow bags. I always grab a few when I go. Books in English and bags of leaves are excellent complementary services.

The procedure went; scatter some organic fertilizer pellets (in plastic box on the deck - these things don't look organic), slap down some wet leaves, and before they all blow away, lay down some grass straw on both sides of the hedge, then hose the lot. Apart from the fertilizer, the main ingredients were free (discounting the very pleasant time spent gathering them).